Final Fantasy 7: The Nibelheim Incident
by Never fail
Summary: AU: When a routine mission goes sour, A special team of Shinra soldiers, headed by Zack and Cloud, must uncover the mysteries that lurk within the derelict town of Nibelheim. Rated T.
1. Chapter 1: Landfall

_**Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy characters, places and names are the rightful property of Square-Enix. I do not own them and this story is a non-profit departure from the original storyline, written for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of readers. I gain no monetary profit from it.**_

_**Chapter 1**__**: Landfall**_

Cloud hated helicopters. He strapped his arms close together around his Kevlar vest and sandwiched the M-16 scope assault rifle between his gloved hands. He looked out the side cabin window and the sky displayed a sea of dense fog. It was still too early in the morning to see anything but at least it wasn't dark anymore.

He hated being cramped in small places. And the cabin of an Apache, loaded with fifteen Spec. Ops Shinra Soldiers was about as crowded as it gets. All around him, other men and women sat in their gear, loaded down with munitions, rations, supplies and weaponry; anything and everything they would need to get the job done.

But what was the job this time? Check on an isolated village that had gone silent for far too long? It didn't make sense to Cloud. Why send in the military? And the special division no less? Granted many of them were green, newly assigned to the Spec Ops unit, and he could tell by some of the pale faces around him that they never experienced the same Hell that he and few others had. Nevertheless, they made Spec. Ops. So they were the best of the best.

Cloud didn't like it. If it was just a training run, Shinra was vagrantly wasting tax money. And if it was more? Why keep them in the dark? There were too many questions and trying to sift through them all with no answers made his head hurt. Cloud sighed in frustration. It seemed like every day there was something new and after the recent victory in Wutai, he was beginning to question the decisions of their government more and more.

Thoughts of that scorched land, once lush and green with vegetation, made Cloud cringe. He forcefully tore his mind away from the memories and looked back out the window. Of course there was about as much to see now as there was five seconds ago. He didn't care; anything was better than thinking about Wutai.

"Lock it up people!"

Cloud turned at the sound of the new voice and a tight grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. A taller man came out from the pilot's cabin, clasping hold of the top railings. The man had spiky hair just like his own, however his was longer and black where Cloud's was medium length and blond. Many of the soldiers in their old division would joke that the two of them were brothers. There were many more jokes in the old days, but that was years ago before the war with Wutai. Now, anyone who heard of Zack Fair wouldn't dare make a joke about him. The man was a power house on the battle field; the best of the best, and again he had to wonder why they sent someone like him on a mission like this.

Nevertheless, Cloud knew Zack. In fact, they were best friends. And Cloud knew, by the easy look on his friend's face that Zack simply took it all in stride like he always did. He wore the same standard black spec ops uniform underneath the Kevlar vest, munitions and supplies just like everyone else while holding onto his helmet in his free hand.

"We reach the drop point in five!" He continued, looking over each of the thirteen faces around him. "The fog is dense so visibility will be low. Not a problem for guys like us. We'll be dropping into the forest zone, half a mile outside the Nibelheim village. I want everyone moving fast and low. Let's keep everything by the book and I don't want anyone lagging behind." Zack turned on a short man sitting near the back. "That means you Wedge! Let's keep it tight people. I wanna be back home in time for dinner."

Zack smirked and pulled on his helmet. It immediately covered his entire face and it was complete with a dark visor and lower face plating. It was the same as everyone else; Cloud always hated the design. There were better ways to breath than through foam, metal and glass for 48 hours. But he'd gotten used to it. He just hoped they didn't scare the locals too much; they were _supposed _to be the good guys after all.

Zack moved over towards the empty seat beside him and dropped down. Even though he couldn't see his friend's face, Cloud could tell by the body language, Zack was enjoying himself.

"How you holdin up? Still get sick on helicopters?"

Cloud tried very hard not to roll his eyes. Ever since his first mission when he popped, his friend wouldn't let him live it down. Instead, he shrugged off the joke and furrowed his brows. "I don't like this."

"Well you've been doing it for years now, you should be used to flying by now."

"I'm talking about the mission." Cloud grumbled. "It doesn't sit well with me."

"Yeah? Which part?" Zack leaned forward. "That Shinra's sending Spec-Ops soldiers on a milk run? Or that we even care about a defective relay station out in the middle of nowhere?"

Cloud shook his head. "Operation Control says we lost contact with the village over a month ago. They suspect foul play with rebel involvement but what advantage would terrorists have with an isolated village outpost? There's no strategic value whatsoever. And there are no factories for military armament either."

Zack shrugged again. "Well whatever the case is, it's a priority-one mission so it can't be helped. Stop worrying so much."

"Not this time Zack…" Cloud bit the bottom of his lip. "I have a bad feeling we're being kept in the dark and I'm in no mood to find things out the hard way."

"If you say so." Zack shrugged with an easy going demeanor. It infuriated Cloud that the man could be so calm. But, despite it all, Cloud was glad for that. He and Zack had seen a lot together during the war and they'd been in more than a few tight spots. Zack had saved his life too many times to count and three years before the war ended they were caught in a blast. He took most of it. Even to this day he can't remember much, but he knew Zack dragged him out through enemy lines. The two of them spent months on the run before they finally reached an extraction point. While Cloud spent months recovering, Zack had gone back in.

He was able to recover fast enough to reenter the fight but he never saw Zack again until the end of the war. He'd lead several units on his own and quickly scaled the ranks. But Zack was in a completely different class all together. Mission after mission, he'd gone through hell and back with the top soldiers of the special division military. Zack easily became one of the best. Cloud wasn't jealous but he missed the old days and he wondered just how much his friend had changed over the years.

A bright red light flashed overhead with a loud chime, breaking him from his thoughts. He immediately straightened up in his seat and Zack was no longer leaning casually. His friend was locking himself down and looking around.

"Show time, people! Get your game faces on and your harnesses strapped! We're in for a bumpy ride. As soon as we hit ground, I want everyone out and moving! No screw ups! We're the best Shinra has to offer so let's prove it!"

Seconds later the fog was broken by a dense conflagration of leaves, branches and greenery. Wind swept through the air and the loud hum of the helicopter rotors reverberated through the cabin.

Zack popped his harness and moved quickly over towards the hatch. As soon as he pulled it open, Almost all sound was drowned out with the blare of the rotors. Zack screamed through the noise.

"GO! GO! GO!"

Cloud quickly pulled his helmet on. One by one, the other soldiers popped their own harnesses, clutched their assault rifles and hustled out the cabin, single file. Cloud followed suit and took a position along the middle. Zack gave him a firm clap on the shoulder as he made his way out and he returned a tight nod.

His body was on auto now, as he mechanically ran through the dense grass and woodlands. Rain was falling heavy and the fog was thick. He rushed behind a tree, crouched, aimed, then ran towards another tree. Standard routine. Point to point, check your positions, keep moving. He could hear static humming over the comm. speaker in his ear and Zack's voice broke through.

"Split off into two squads. Strife you've got Delta Squad. Check left and give us a wide sweep. Bravo squad check right on me. Keep it moving!"

Everyone knew their formations. The lead seven were Delta. The rear seven were Bravo. Everyone fanned out in formation. Cloud was no stranger to command. He immediately switched on the thermal signature Heads-up-display or H.U.D. on the side of his helmet. Through the digital view screen inside his visor, he could see a rectangular screen open up, showing him fourteen red blips on an internal topographic map; their squad.

"Thermal scanners online." He ordered, keeping a low steady pace while moving through the woodlands. Tree branches and bushes were everywhere, interspersed with large leafs the size of his hand and more. Cloud kept his rifle aimed as he moved through it all. Behind him, the other soldiers scanned the surrounding areas as he took point. Rain fell harder and his boots sank deep in the mud.

He crouched behind another tree and waved his hand forward. Biggs and Luxiere quickly rushed past him. They aimed left and right while moving forward. Cloud checked the screen but the signal was still clean. He moved in behind them checking down the center.

The scenery slowly opened into a glade of lush trees, more green than brown and it looked like a small pond stood at the center. Cloud circled around the pond with the others, still moving steadily. The landscape dipped and he could see the last trees ahead before the forest broke into a clearing leading down towards the village. As his team broke the vale, he could see Zack's squad on the other side.

"We're nearing the target site." He said into his mic.

"Copy that. Proceed forward." Zack ordered. "We're right behind you."

The grasslands dipped down a slope and with the mud, Cloud moved at a slower pace to keep his balance. The village loomed into sight, and from the distance, Cloud wasn't impressed. A large windmill towered over the town with rusted fins, chucking along in the fierce winds and screeching on its rusted axel. The gates were old and high, made of solid oak. It must have been a really old village. It made him even more curious why Shinra had taken such an interest in a town like this.

Cloud looked up as he neared the gates. There were two watchtowers on either side of the front but both of them were derelict. He narrowed his eyes. He was no expert on rural village security but he was fairly certain watchtowers should be manned at all times. He continued to make his way up towards the entrance and checked the front door. It was wide but old. Pressing his hand over it, the door gave firm resistance and a metal lock jingled against rusted chains.

Luxiere whistled soundly through his helm. "Nibelheim huh? What a dump!"

"Place reminds me of something out of a history book." Biggs muttered, moving up alongside him.

"Yeah, but a scary one." Jessie added while staring at one of the abandoned watchtowers. "This place doesn't look too homely."

"You think maybe they got scared when they heard the Apache?" Luxiere put an elbow on the female soldier's shoulder. "Maybe the locals got a phobia against modern technology."

"Can the chatter." Cloud ordered and gave the fence another glance over. It seemed sturdy enough with no signs of damage. He looked back towards the foothills as Zack's squad moved in. The dark haired leader immediately walked up to him.

"What's it look like?"

"Old." Cloud shook his head. "But secure. The gate's locked and there're no signs of forced entry. What bothers me are the watchtowers."

"Yeah, I saw that." Zack nodded, flexing his fingers around his assault rifle. "No one's home. Lends to the story that something's wrong at least. But it doesn't exactly tell us a whole lot either."

"Orders?"

"They still stand." Zack turned to the man behind him. "Sears, get this door open. Cloud, once we're in, take your squad and run a sweep on the left side of the village. We'll take the right. I want to know what's going on in there."

"You got it." Cloud bobbed his head and gripped his rifle.

Sears moved in and pulled out a set of metal clamping prongs connected by insulated wire to a mechanical device in his side pouch. He attached one prong to the bottom of the lock and the other prong on the side. He moved back a few paces and thumbed a switch on the side of the mechanical device. A sharp spark jumped from the prongs, destroying the lock as it popped off its chain.

"Clear!"

"Effective." Zack waved his hand forward. "Move in!"

Zack leaned his shoulder into the gate, slowly pushing it open then quickly brought his weapon up, walking steadily into the village. Sears was at his back in an instant. Slowly, the rest of Bravo was past the gate. Cloud stayed at the ready with the rest of his squad waiting for the order.

"We're clear." Zack's voice came over the mic. "Delta, proceed inside."

"Copy!"

Cloud took point, and just like Zack, he rounded past the door with his rifle aimed. The rain was relentless and it fell heavy against old, wooden houses. Biggs was right about one thing, the village definitely looked like a historical relic. The hamlet was bisected by a long dirt road and on either side, houses ran in a long, winding stretch. Many of them looked to be two and three stories high with glass windows, simple doors and small plots of land. Some had cages for chickens. Others had mills and looms. At the center of the village was the gigantic windmill that continued to spin. It's base alone was the size of one of the two story houses.

"Yep… Definitely old school." Biggs muttered through his helmet.

As his squad continued left, Cloud cut behind one of the houses, carefully stepping over a bed of rain-soaked flowers. A back door creaked ajar in the wind and a laundry wire stretched out behind the house. He ducked underneath the wire and moved slowly towards the door.

"Elfe." He muttered and gestured towards the opened door.

The woman nodded and immediately took point, aiming her rifle and moving through the opened door.

"I'm with Elfe." Cloud continued. "Biggs and Jessie, take the second house. Wedge and Tierce have the third. Luxiere, you keep position here and watch for surprises."

The soldiers quickly fanned out. Cloud sank into the opened house and flipped a switch on the side of his rifle. A light blossomed in the darkness giving him a view of his surroundings. Elfe was moving slowly towards the living room as he made his way over to the kitchen. The hallway was empty with a long red carpet. But as he neared the kitchen, he saw a flood of mess. The pantry was ransacked. Pots and pans were scattered along the counters and floor. Rotting food was strewn about with half empty bags and sacks. It looked as if someone were trying to leave in a hurry. But no one was here. At least no one he could see.

"Hello?" Cloud called out, movingly slowly through the kitchen area. "If you can hear me, I'm here to help! We're Shinra soldiers…" He continued forward and neared a door in the side hall. Taking one hand from his rifle, he tried the handle, slowly opening the door. He fixed his aim and stared down a narrow stairwell leading to a lower cellar.

"If anyone is down there, do not be alarmed." Cloud ordered. He slowly began to descend the stairs and they groaned against his weight. "Again, I am here to help! We're not your enemies…"

He continued to make his way down but other than the creaking door outside and the slapping rain, there was nothing but silence.

When he reached the bottom, he quickly swerved left and right, but the room was filled with boxes and old furniture. The floor was covered in hay and even through his mask, he could smell the scent of mildew.

Cloud slowly walked around the boxes. A stray mouse scuttled past his boot making him grimace in disgust. He hated rodents.

He continued forward in the cellar walking down a row of crates and boxes. Some loose cords dangled from the ceiling and the steady patter of outside rain continued to hum. Cloud stared pointedly down the barrel of his rifle, taking slow measured steps. The shadows parted for his light, revealing more hay, more boxes and more useless furniture.

He finally came to the end of the room where a few more crates were stacked against the wall. He looked down at the edge of the top crate which seemed to be smashed in with charred edges. Cloud lowered his gun and lightly smeared his gloved fingers over the edge, bringing dark smudges back with them. He narrowed his eyes, starring at those smudges before rubbing his fingers together. "Gun powder…?"

Suddenly a hand fell over his shoulder. Cloud immediately spun around and raised his rifle - at Elfe. The blond leader sighed in relief and lowered his gun.

"Captain." Elfe nodded. "This place is dead. The house is a mess but no one's around to clean up."

"Any bodies?"

"None. The front window's smashed though. Looks like there was a struggle maybe?"

Cloud nodded and swallowed hard. "Yeah. Something's definitely going on. Take a look at this?"

He stood to the side and pointed his rifle light at the crate. "The char around the edges of that crate. What do you make of that?"

Elfe smeared her own fingers against the crate before rubbing them together like Cloud had. After a moment she looked back at him with a shrug. "Looks like gun powder to me."

"Yeah, I thought so too."

"So there was a fight? But not much of one. The door's not riddled in bullets and I didn't see any shells laying around either."

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, it's one of several mysteries I have about this place. In any case, we're done here. Just like you said, the house is deserted and I don't think there's anything more for us to see here."

Elfe nodded and together they walked slowly up the stairs. Cloud's mind whirled. Why was there gun powder? There was an obvious struggle but against who? Was there a terrorist invasion? But then where were the bodies? None of it made any sense.

Once they walked out the door and back into the rain, he found Luxiere together with the rest of his squad a little further down.

"What's the news?" He asked, walking towards them.

"Second house is busted up pretty bad." Jessie said in a shaky voice. "Biggs and I checked top and bottom but everything's smashed. The floor fell in on the first level into the basement. Looks like there was an explosion of some kind but nobody around, alive or dead."

"We did find some blood stains though." Biggs added.

By the sounds of their voices, both soldiers sounded unnerved and Cloud reminded himself that these were rookies. He nodded and processed the information. "If there was blood then that means someone was at least injured. Something strange is going on."

"I can't figure it out." Wedge spoke up. His voice was more broken than the other two and Tierce was silent all together, keeping his head low. "There was blood in the third house… A LOT of blood. Bullet holes too. Shells peppering the floor. Everything was a mess. Even the door was gone…" His voice shook. "I never saw so much blood in my entire life…"

"But no bodies?" Cloud asked.

"N- no sir… no bodies…"

"Right…" Cloud sighed and pressed into a button on the side of his helmet. "Delta squad here. Left side is Derelict but we definitely have signs of a fight. Over."

A few seconds passed before static hummed over on his mic. "Yeah, same story here." Zack's voice cut through. "Delta leader, get your squad over to our position. We've found the village Inn. We can use it as base camp for now."

"Copy that. We're on our way. Over and out." Cloud looked over his squad. Elfe and Luxiere were calm but the others still looked shaken. At least they would join up with the other group. He was beginning to remember why he hated working with green recruits. "Okay, you heard the man. Let's move it out people."

Cloud led the way, continuing to move slow with his rifle raised. He wasn't going to take any chances. Until he knew exactly what was going on, he would take nothing for granted. Thankfully, his team caught the hint and followed his lead. After a while, they made their way to the other set of seven blips on their H.U.D. screen.

Cloud looked up at a tall three story building. It looked ornate, or at least more ornate than the surrounding buildings and it had a wide red door. He walked over to it, pushing the door open. As soon as he did, light flooded the room and for the first time, something in the village actually looked alive.

Zack was standing over by the front desk with his helmet off and flipping through a few pages of paper on the counter. The rest of his squad were walking about and looking at various items. Lights streamed along the room, illuminating everything from above. As Cloud approach, the raven haired leader looked up with a smile.

"We managed to find a power source. Can you believe this place actually has electricity? And a control room? With video monitors and all?" Zack smirked and shook his head. "Hard to imagine in a village like this, right?"

Cloud shrugged as the rest of his troops dispersed along the lobby. "Makes about as much sense as anything else in this place." The blond gratefully pulled his own helmet off and set it down on the counter. "What do you make of all this?"

"Don't know…" Zack replied while looking down at the papers on the counter. "And if that isn't bad enough, take a look at this literature."

Cloud frowned and leaned over the counter, looking at the typed parchment. After a few moments he started in surprise. "An EVAC notice!" He looked up at his friend in perplexity.

Zack nodded and folded his left arm around his rifle. "Keep reading. It gets better."

Cloud followed along until he reached the bottom of the notice. His eyes grew as wide as saucers. "General Sephiroth! What the hell was he doing here?"

"What the hell are _WE _doing here, is a better question." Zack's face was deathly serious and Cloud could feel his nerves growing on edge.

The blond man put the paper back on the counter. "None of this makes any sense. Did they mention _ANY _of this to you when they briefed you?"

"Nothing. The mission briefing states that they lost contact with the village relay station a little over two months ago. The cause was unknown but they hinted at the possibility of terrorist activity same as you heard. Our orders are to assess the situation and evacuate any civilians.

Cloud scoffed in derision. "That's bullshit. That mission detail is about as bare as a baby's ass."

Zack shrugged and shook his head. "Orders from the top. I can't question 'em."

The blond rolled his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck. "Just like Wutai?"

Zack looked away but Cloud could see the disgust in his eyes. "… Yeah… Just like Wutai…"

A buzz cut through their silence and Zack's helmet vibrated against the table.

"Major… do you copy? Over."

Both men turned towards the noise before Zack pulled his helmet back on and flipping the switch on the side. "Zack here. Go ahead Kunsel."

"We've got a situation in the security room. I think you should come take a look."

Cloud glanced at the squad leader but Zack was already nodding his head. "Copy that. On my way."

Zack turned his face towards Cloud. "Strife, you're with me. Elfe, you've got command detail. If anything happens out here, I want to know!"

"Copy that, sir."

Zack turned back towards the blond while Cloud pulled his own helmet on. "Let's go."

Cloud followed Zack as the squad leader rushed up the stairs taking them two at a time. They moved through the second level hall until they got to the end. The way Zack was moving, Cloud was sure they must have secured the area. Zack stopped at the end of the hall and opened the last door on the left. The room was alight with bright monitors and security screens. Kunsel was leaning over the central terminal with Kyneugh sitting in the chair.

"Kunsel. What's going on?"

Kunsel nodded to Zack and Cloud's approach then looked down at Kyneugh. "Roll the video back."

The private pressed a series of buttons while the other man looked back at the two commanding officers.

"These video uplinks are old but apparently they're still running. Digital recorders; and with good battery life, especially for a village like this. Anyway, that makes it convenient for us. We looped the camera feeds back by a little over two months, around the time when our communication with the village flat lined. That's when we found this." He pointed to the terminal Kyneugh was working on. "According to the time log on this monitor, the cameras took this recording approximately sixty-one days before we got here."

Kyneugh replayed the feed and for a while, all Cloud saw was a grey-tinted room. The video continued and the scene was uneventful.

Zack shook his head. "What exactly are we supposed to be seeing here, Corporal?"

"Right there." Kunsel pointed to the screen.

Just then, two men entered the room. One man was portly, wearing a maroon vest and a white button-down shirt with beige khakis. The man had glasses and a mustache and turned around as he was followed by another man. Both Zack and Cloud immediately recognized the other man's black and gray camouflage fatigues and the black kevlar vest. But what was most noticeable was the silver hair that slicked back down to the nape of his neck with small twin bangs jumping in front. Only the General had hair like that.

The portly man seemed exasperated as he turned on the general and the video feed just barely captured their voices in muffled and buzzing tones.

"I can't…zzzt. General… zzzt… People…zzzt. Not soldiers!zzzt… can't…zzzt like cattle!…"

"That's not your…zzzt" The general's broken voice picked up. "My orders…zzzt -ure this area and…zzzt from any…zzzt. -outbreak…zzzt"

"But what about…zzzt? Zzzt… Zzzt… Infection! Zzzt."

"My unit will…zzzt … Rest assured… zzzt… to the Reactor to assess the situation. When we return, you will have your people…zzzt to a quarantined fac-zzzt…. Await further…zzzt… that understood Mayor?"

The man in the video dropped his head and sighed. After a long pause he shook his head. His words were too low for any of them to hear in the control room. But his body language was evident enough as he stormed out of the room.

The general turned idly, staring over at the video camera with his Assault rifle held casually in hand. After a moment, he turned and followed the Mayor out the door.

"I'll be damned…" Cloud hissed. "Infection?"

"Maybe." Zack released a long sigh and shook his head, still staring at the monitor. "We never even knew the General was out on duty. And there's definitely no on-file M.I.A report."

"At least now we know why Operation Control sent us out and not standard military." Kunsel reasoned.

Zack only shook his head. "That doesn't tell us anything. Why didn't they give us details? Why keep us in the dark?"

Cloud gave his friend a look. "Welcome to the club…"

"You can tell me you told me so later. Right now we need to handle this."

Cloud nodded, his smirk fading. "Orders?"

Zack looked back at the monitor for a moment and released another deep sigh." Well… Looks like we'll be taking a field trip to these reactors our general was talking about. Might as well start there."

Cloud nodded. "I'll radio the apache to come pick us up right away."

"Negative." Zack looked at his friend evenly. "None of this makes any sense. And I'm not going to dump a full battalion into a hot zone without any support. You keep your squad in base camp and keep transmission feeds open. I'll take Bravo team in to investigate."

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "I don't like this."

Zack shook his head and for the first time, he could see uneasiness in his friend's eyes. "Neither do I, Spikes… Neither do I."

**To Be Continued**

_Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Chapter 2 should be out next week. Please review!_


	2. Chapter 2: Things that go bump

_**Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy characters, places and names are the rightful property of Square-Enix. I do not own them and this story is a non-profit departure from the original storyline, written for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of readers. I gain no monetary profit from it.**_

_**Chapter 2**__**: Things that go bump**_

The rain had stopped when Bravo squad and a small Delta escort made their way into a clearing in the forest, several klicks out from the village; not far from their original drop zone. The wind picked up as their Apache swooped in from above, making its slow descent.

"Don't you think the village square would have made for a better L.Z.?" Biggs asked, putting his hand over one ear against the noise of the helicopter rotors. "There was enough space for it."

"Yeah! Sure! Have our only transport touchdown on a village we haven't secured yet!" Kunsel shook his head. "Real smart, Biggs."

"Hey, I was only sayin, man…"

"He has a point though, Corporal," Jessie defended. "The place sure looked deserted to me."

"The decision's made." Zack interjected. "Looks can be deceiving. There's still too much about this whole mission we don't know yet. I'd rather not take any chances."

Zack moved away as the rest of Bravo fell into small talks. Normally he would have had no problem with the chatter, but he was too keyed up about the mission to get distracted now. Nothing made sense.

Cloud moved in close to his friend and lowered his voice behind the blare of the rotors. "I still don't know about this. If the General went in and never came back…?"

Cloud let the question hang and Zack caught his meaning clear enough. Nevertheless, the black haired leader shook his head. "No choice. We need to know what's going on."

"Then go in full force! Don't leave Delta out on this one!"

"It can't be helped, Lieutenant. I need your squad here at base camp. If all we have is one foot on solid ground, I'd rather we keep it that way…"

Cloud narrowed his eyes behind his helm. "You mean in case we find civilians."

Zack nodded, confirming his thoughts. The Apache descended closer and already it's railings were within arm's reach. "Keep your eyes open Cloud. Our main priority is getting the civilians out of here. But more than that, they're the only ones who can tell us what's really been going on out here."

"And if they're all dead?"

"Worst case scenario, we go home empty handed and that's one more notch under Shinra's belt."

"And if there's an infection?"

"We'll deal with it when we get to it."

Zack grabbed the railing of the Apache and the pilot turned her head towards him, yelling over the noise.

"Good to see you're still in one piece, Major!"

"The feeling's mutual, Rui! We need you to hike us up to the reactor. You passed it when you brought us in."

"I remember. You takin the whole team?"

"Negative. Just Bravo. Delta's got babysitting duty."

Zack knew that comment would infuriate Cloud and he was sure his blond haired friend was all shades of red right now. "Once we touch down, I want you to find a safe L.Z. to wait for us. We'll radio when we need pickup but I don't want you in a hot spot if you don't need to be there."

"Copy that." Rui looked around as the soldiers began climbing into the Apache one by one. "Where's Elfe?"

Zack grinned behind his helm. "Don't worry. She's safe and sound at base camp. You'll be happy to know I placed your little sister in charge. She tends to stay out of trouble that way."

Rui smirked and shook her head. "Ain't that the truth. Climb aboard Major. I'll have you at the reactor in no time."

Zack nodded and turned back towards Cloud. The leader of Delta squad was scratching his arm and Zack knew, by the action, his friend was still not sure about this decision.

"Hey…" Zack clasped his friend's padded shoulder. "Keep your eyes open for anything, you hear me? _Anything_!"

Cloud nodded. "Eyes and ears, Major."

Zack nodded, giving Cloud's shoulder another firm clap. "Once you get back to base camp, keep our channel open. I want a constant communication feed. Kunsel tells me we'll get some chop in the mountains though, so be advised."

"Understood." Cloud nodded.

Zack smiled, assured that his friend would get the job done. Cloud was one of the most serious soldiers he knew and the best man he could count on. That was why he wanted Cloud on the other side. "Keep the fires warm when we return."

Zack turned to climb up into the helicopter but Cloud grasped his arm at the last second. "Zack."

The raven haired officer turned around.

"Be careful…"

Zack nodded with a slow salute before hoisting himself up onto the railing then climbing into the Apache and strapping himself into one of the seats.

Cloud returned the salute while he, Biggs and Jessie backed up and Bravo team slowly ascended into the clouds, taking off towards the mountains. A flash of thunder echoed somewhere in the sky, a sure sign that another storm was shortly on approach.

Biggs shook his head. "Hope they make it there in one piece."

"No." Cloud replied, narrowing his eyes. "Better to hope they make it BACK in one piece." The blond stared a while longer then turned away from the sky. "Okay, you heard the Major. He wants that uplink feed operational as soon as possible. The sooner we get back, the sooner we can make sure Elfe's got it done! Let's move out! "

With that, the three soldiers of Delta made their way slowly back to the barren village of Nibelheim.

**####**

Meanwhile, in the village, the interim leader of Delta squad was having her own share of problems.

"You know," Luxiere cooed as he leaned back in the side chair of the Base Camp Control Room. "There are few things in life better than a man watchin a woman work."

Elfe glared and for the tenth time, she felt the overwhelming desire to strangle the man. She had been leaning over the table getting the data feed to transfer from their lap top terminal monitor to the radio signal directly connected to the H.U.D. units in their helmets. From there, they could get a direct line to Bravo team and easily monitor their progress from base camp.

It was an easy job for her and usually didn't take more than a few minutes. Unfortunately, this time there were certain obstacles against her. For starters, the storm and the distance up the mountains were both interfering with their signal. And more upsetting, was that it was all the more difficult when a particular member of her squad took more interest in her current position than with their present mission directives.

"I tell ya." Luxiere continued. "It's not every day a guy like me gets a show like this. If I only had a camera."

"I swear." Elfe seethed. "If you say one more word, I will take my boot and shove it so far up your ass, any other man would cringe."

"Aw I love it when you talk dirty." Luxiere shrugged. "Lighten up a bit. You're so tense!"

The flirtatious man easily slipped out of his chair and strolled over to her. He had lean features and auburn hair, silky enough to make any other woman swoon. Unfortunately, for him, Elfe wasn't any other woman. Instead, upon his approach, she stood up straight and folded her arms with a hard glare.

"Our job is to get that video monitor hooked up and you're telling me to take it easy? Last time I checked, _I _was given command of this Squad; _not _you! So stand _down _corporal!"

Luxiere rolled his eyes. "Pfft. You're no fun at all. This mission really is a bust though." The taller man leaned his weight against the table. "The village is derelict. The place is a dump. And I bet they don't even have a decent washroom."

"What's the matter?" Elfe hiked an eyebrow. "Your hair getting frazzled?"

"You wish." Luxiere smirked. "But seriously. Why are we still even wasting our time out here? I've spent better time watching paint dry."

"I'll bet." Elfe turned back to the lap top monitor, typing a series of keys to reset the routing signal configuration. Once again, she was rewarded with another red error bar on screen. She sighed and tried again. "In any case, we don't know for sure that it's all for naught. That's why Bravo's searching the reactor. Or weren't you paying attention?"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard. But meanwhile, we're stuck here having to - hey!…"

Elfe rolled her eyes. Luxiere was the single most annoying man she'd ever met in her entire life. She typed in a few more keys and suddenly a green loading bar replaced the red bar she'd been getting before. A victorious grin marked her face. "Got it! The feed is up and running!"

Luxiere didn't respond however and that was strange enough that the young auburn haired woman looked up. "What's wrong?"

"Thought I saw something…"

The man didn't comment more but instead moved over towards the door, snatching his assault rifle.

For a man who was more in love with showing off or lounging about, this sudden burst of caution hit her like a steel mallet.

"What did you see?" Elfe asked, grabbing her helmet from the table and snatching Luxiere's before tossing it to him.

The other man caught the helmet with one hand and slipped it over his head in a single motion. "The video monitors. Camera feed for the second floor, stairwell. I swear I saw something … or _someone_"

'_Someone?' _She didn't let the thought linger; instead she immediately thumbed her comm link.

"Delta Squad, this is Elfe over. We've got movement at the east stairwell on level two. Luxiere and I are moving in to investigate. Tierce, I want you at the front entrance. Wedge, you take the back. Make sure nothing comes in and nothing goes out!"

Two replies came through the receiver, but Elfe wasn't listening anymore. She was moving as fast as Luxiere now, gripping her assault rifle with both hands as the two of them rushed down the second floor hallway. They moved fluidly and in synch, Luxiere a few steps ahead of her. Once they neared the entrance to the stairwell, Luxiere crouched low on the left side. Elfe crouched on the right.

She raised five fingers to the man and he nodded in understanding. One by one she brought each finger down and as soon as she made a fist, Luxiere burst through the door with his assault rifle raised. Elfe was right behind him.

But no one was there. Elfe aimed high, staring up at an empty stairwell. Luxiere was looking low and getting the same results.

"Maybe they moved lower." He grumbled.

"Go ahead. I have your back."

Luxiere slowly descended the stairs in a steady motion, letting his aim follow his sights. Elfe shadowed him from behind, keeping her eyes on the stairwell above.

They continued to move until they reached the first level. There was still no sign of anyone.

"Are you sure you saw something?"

"Positive! I wouldn't lie about something like that."

"I wasn't accusing you…" Elfe raised her rifle and stared at the door that lead out into the first floor lobby. "But whatever it was, it's gone now."

"That doesn't make any sense." The man frowned. "I saw it! It was moving fast."

"If it came through the lobby, Tierce or Wedge would have made contact with it by now."

"Then maybe there's something else… I dunno, a trap door we don't know about?"

The thought didn't sit well with Elfe. If there was another entrance or secret hideout, that meant suddenly base camp wasn't as secure as they originally thought.

"Delta Squad, do you copy, over?"

Cloud's voice! Elfe immediately pressed her comm. "Elfe here, Delta Leader. What's your status, over?"

"Bravo's airborne and we're just making our way through the village gates now. We should be at base camp within the next several moments. Is the transmission terminal up yet?"

"Affirmative sir. But we've got a bit of a problem."

"What's wrong?" Immediately Cloud's voice shifted to a more urgent tone.

"Luxiere caught sight of something on the video monitors. But we lost track of it on the level 1 stairwell."

"Understood." Cloud replied. "Hold your position. I'm on my way."

"Copy that, Sir. Over and out." Elfe turned to stare at Luxiere but the lean man shrugged.

"The more the merrier I guess…"

**####**

Cloud ran as soon as he ended the transmission. His mind was a whirlwind as he dashed through the village square, heedless of security or protocol now. He could vaguely hear Biggs and Jessie trying to keep up. It didn't matter. Base Camp was compromised! The very thought put him on edge. They were already in the dark without a clue what they were up against. And now, when half their team was off chasing shadows, their only secure location was being invaded?

'I won't let that happen!'

Cloud burst through the front doors of the inn, startling Tiercel who had his gun half raised in his direction. The private quickly lowered his rifle as Biggs and Jessie came piling in after their leader.

"Captain!" Tiercel salvaged, struggling to regain his composure.

Cloud ignored the man's discomfort. "What's the situation?"

"Quiet, Sir. No movement. No blips on the tracker. Nothing."

"Elfe?"

"Still at the level one stairwell Sir."

"Right. Biggs, Jessie, you two stay here with Tiercel and Wedge." The blond turned back towards Tiercel. "If you hear anything, I want to know about it immediately!"

"Yes sir." The private saluted once more.

The Blond man marched across the hardwood floor, his boots clapping dissonantly against the silence. When he reached the end of the hall, he opened the door leading to the stairwell. Elfe and Luxiere greeted him with prompt salutes but Cloud was in no mood for protocol.

"What happened?"

Elfe turned towards Luxiere and the corporal cleared his throat.

"Not long ago I caught movement in the stairwells on level two from the security cameras. We tracked it this far but…" He shrugged and gestured around them. "There's nothing here."

Cloud wasn't as easily deterred however. "How many did you see?"

"Just one as far as I could tell."

"Any details?"

"All I caught was a blur. Maybe a man? That's about it."

"And you checked the upper levels?"

"The trackers didn't catch anything." Elfe replied.

"A man doesn't just disappear into thin air." Cloud lowered his head in thought with his arms crossed pensively. Finally, he pressed his comm switch. "Tiercel, I want you to stay on the front door. Wedge, I need you to check every floor on the western stairwell."

He could hear an audible groan on the other end. At any other time, it might have even cracked a smile on his face; this wasn't one of those times, and new recruit or not, Cloud would spare the man no mercy.

"Every floor wedge. Get to it!"

A dull reply sounded from the other end.

"Biggs, I want you on the eastern stairwell. Same deal."

"Jessie, you're in charge of the control room. Establish contact with Bravo team and alert me immediately when they touch down."

"Copy that."

Cloud turned back to Elfe and Luxiere. "You two are with me."

He turned and walked out the door. He could hear the other two following in step. Biggs passed them, holding his Assault rifle in both hands with his helm on. Cloud could see the yellow and green lights flashing on the side of his helmet; the indication that his H.U.D. tracker was online. _'Good. At least one of these recruits knows how to follow orders.'_

Cloud continued marching across the lobby and walked towards the manager's office behind the front desk. The door was old but sturdy enough. He pulled it open and the three of them walked into a dark room. Thankfully, when Cloud tried the lights, they came on.

Inside, the room was covered in dust and filth. A monitor was sitting on the table at the end of one side and a large set of file cabinets were on the other side. Cloud pointed towards the desk. "Elfe. You're the expert with computers, check that terminal. Luxiere, you're going to help me check the file cabinets."

"What are we looking for?" The corporal asked as they moved towards the cabinets.

"Blueprints. Schematics; anything and everything that can give me a picture on the layout of this building. If there are hideouts in here, I want to know about them."

"This computer might as well be as old as the village." Elfe sniffed as she booted the machine up. A loud motor started up and the woman scoffed in displeasure. "I can't guarantee anything."

"Just do the best you can." Cloud replied over his shoulder, detaching the communicator from his helmet and looping it over his ear. Elfe and Luxiere did the same as they removed their own helmets.

He pulled open the nearest file cabinet. Luxiere started on the drawers on the other side. One by one, the two men worked while Elfe tapped away on the loud keyboard at the other end of the room. Her tapping was occasionally broken with a series of undecipherable mutterings, none of which sounded good.

Cloud tuned it all out, however, as he pulled large rolls of paper from the drawers, one at a time, and spread them out on the middle table. Luxiere shadowed his actions with his own sets of paper and the two men continued to pour over each sheet, going back to find more.

Time passed quickly and in-between their search, Cloud would occasionally get status updates from Biggs and Wedge, neither man ever finding anything.

"Ok, I've finally got access to the second level one blueprint, but they sure stored it in a funky place."

Luxiere grunted. "This whole village is a funky place, Elfe."

"What do you mean _second _level one blueprint?" Cloud asked, walking over towards her.

"Well, it's strange. I've got blueprints for all four floors but the first floor seemed… off for some reason… like part of it was missing. So I did some digging and searched all the file directories, folders, subfolders, nested and hidden folders and I finally found another version of the first floor but this one's incomplete too."

Cloud frowned. "Maybe there's a revision somewhere?"

"I thought so too at first." Elfe pulled both blueprints on screen. "But now, I'm not so sure. I've cut through every file lock on this computer and anything in blueprint format is here."

Cloud stared at the two versions side by side and frowned. "They look like they match the blueprint on the table, but just combined."

Elfe shrugged. "So why keep them apart then?"

Just then, an audible buzz cut them off.

"Captain, this is Jessie. Over."

Cloud tapped the side of his headset. "Go ahead, Jessie."

"I've got Bravo Leader on the terminal. They just made landfall."

"Roger that, Jessie. Tell the Major I'm on my way. I'll be there shortly."

"Copy, sir."

Cloud looked back towards Elfe. "I'll be back. In the meantime, see if you can make heads or tails of those two blueprints."

"Understood sir. I'll have an answer for you when you return."

"I'll expect nothing less."

With that, Cloud stood to his full height and made his way out of the main office. On the bright side, at least he knew Bravo squad made it to their destination safely. Only now, he had to figure out how he was going to tell Zack that the only foothold they had, may no longer be as secure as they all suspected.

Cloud cringed. Suddenly, he wasn't so sure he wanted to speak to his friend after all.

**To Be Continued**

_Author's note: Thank you for reading. Please review. Chapter 3 should be out by next week._


	3. Chapter 3: Cat and Mouse

_**Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy characters, places and names are the rightful property of Square-Enix. I do not own them and this story is a non-profit departure from the original storyline, written for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of readers. I gain no monetary profit from it.**_

_**Chapter 3:**__** Cat and Mouse**_

True to her word, it didn't take Rui long to locate the reactor and thus, the flight was relatively short as the helicopter made its way up over the mountains. From the looks of the terrain below, Zack could tell that, had they trekked through the mountain pass by foot, the trip would have taken them at least several hours if not an entire day.

A gray mist collected along the base of the reactor as the Apache neared the drop zone.

"Spooky." Kunsel spoke up beside him. "Will Rui be able to land in all that?"

"I've landed in worse." Rui called from the front of the Apache. "Just hang tight. I'll have you groundside in no time."

"Not sure I want to be groundside." Kanos mumbled, rubbing the side of his neck.

"Lock it down, private!"

Zack unbuckled his harness and hoisted himself up to a standing position as the Apache made its final descent. "I want eyes and ears sharp. I want everyone focused and I want chatter to a minimum. This was the general's last known location as far as our limited intel is concerned so our first priority is to look for survivors. Now we're entering a hot zone with a potential biohazard risk so I don't have to tell you to be on your toes. Keep your helmets on at all times. If you find any Tangos, aim low. We want them down but we also want them alive if possible."

As Rui lowered them closer to the reactor, the mist cleared slightly to reveal a rocky terrain. The reactor was tall, reaching out into the sky. It spread out to the edge of the mountainside before dipping down along with the cliff formation. It was impossible to gauge how deep the reactor went into the mountain. The exterior metal surface was aged and rusted as if it hadn't been used or serviced in years - not just months.

'_If the reactor was derelict, why did the General want to investigate?' _Zack mused. None of this made any sense and the more they discovered, the more questions he had. He didn't like it and more than once, he wished he had the full team with him.

Zack shook his head. Fear wouldn't do any of them any good, especially now. The dust cleared as the Apache finally touched ground and Zack slipped his helmet on tight. "Lock and load people! It's show time!"

He was the first one off, jumping down hard with his assault rifle aimed. Sears and Kunsel dropped on either side of him followed by Kanos, Sebastian, Essai and Kyneugh picking up the rear.

Zack snapped his finger and fanned his arm in two different directions. The squad split off, Kunsel moving left with Sebastian, Kyneugh and Essai while Zack moved right with Sears and Kanos.

The two groups made a wide sweep of the outer structure. As Zack's boots crunched down over brittle permafrost and hard gravel, he could hear a shrill wind echoing across the mountain caps even through the insulation of his helmet. His H.U.D. monitor measured constant blips with a clean canvas. Besides his group, he could pick up no other signs of movement.

He moved slowly closer to the reactor and saw that the entrance sat above a wide stairwell. The metal-grated stairs were heavily rusted and he had his suspicions whether or not they'd hold anyone's weight anymore without collapsing. The outer walls were no better, especially at this proximity. He could see peeling tarps of metal folding out from a rusty brown undercoat. Occasionally, a few errant spurts of smog would push out from the top spoke of the reactor, surprising him that it still ran in such disrepair.

His squad fanned around the right side and as they circled the wall, they could hear the vibrations of the pistons within. He kept a slow pace, crunching his way along until he finally reached the gated end, where a fence separated their path from the back of the reactor where the metal structure dipped low, down the back of the mountain cliff.

Zack pressed the comm on his helmet. "This is Bravo Leader. All clear on the right."

"Copy that, Bravo leader," Kunsel replied. "Same story on the left."

Zack nodded his head, moving at a normal pace now. His team circled back around to the front of the reactor, meeting up with Kunsel's team at the entrance.

Zack gave the corporal a nod before heading towards the sitting apache, its propellers still spinning in the wind. "Rui, I need you to patch me through to base camp on your terminal."

Rui was already tapping away at a laptop terminal in the seat next to her. "You're gonna have some chop but you'll get a signal."

"Very good." Zack pulled himself inside the apache and moved over towards the monitor screen as it produced a fuzzy image on the other side. He removed his helmet and set his rifle down off to the side.

Jessie appeared on screen with a pensive expression. "Major."

"Jessie." Zack's voice rose higher over the noise of the propellers outside. "We just touched down outside the reactor. The parameter's secure on the landing at least but that doesn't tell us anything. Has Delta leader made it back to base camp yet?"

"Yes sir. I'll alert him that you're on ground right away."

Zack noticed her voice was clipped and he had a feeling it was from more than just nervousness. But he wouldn't press it for now. He'd wait until he could ask Cloud directly.

"I would have thought my sister'd be the one fielding transmissions." Rui asked from beside him. Zack almost smirked. Rui didn't miss anything. Even though she was Captain rank like Cloud and she'd seen her share of the violence in Wutai, she never spoke much or let on. Zack knew she was just as capable as the rest of the veteran soldiers in Spec. Ops. So he wasn't surprised when she gave voice to his own concerns.

"You noticed too, huh?"

"What do you think happened?"

Zack shrugged. "Don't know. But don't worry. I'm sure your sister's fine."

Rui narrowed her eyes in a rare display of over protectiveness. "She'd better be."

Zack was about to say more when a new voice spoke up.

"Major. Glad to hear your voice."

Zack turned back to the monitor and grinned. "Cloud! You still keepin the fires warm?"

"Everyone's still in one piece if that's what you're asking."

Zack frowned, noticing the same hesitation in Cloud's voice. But at least everyone was okay. And he could tell by the fall of Rui's shoulders, that she'd been put at ease as well. So what was wrong? Cloud wasn't one to keep secrets. If he needed to know, the blond would tell him.

The black haired man cleared his throat. "Good to hear. In any case, we're at the platform. The outer parameter is secure. We're about to check the interior but from the looks of it at a distance, it's hard to tell how deep it runs into the mountains Place looks pretty run down too."

Cloud frowned at this. "There may be structural damage to consider as well."

"Yeah, I thought about that." Zack nodded with a sigh. "We've got rope. But I've got no desire to look any deeper than I have to."

Cloud nodded.

"Listen. I want this line to stay open. We won't have a visual inside the reactor but our audio communication should be consistent."

"Understood. We'll keep the stream running on our end."

Zack nodded again, preparing to leave.

"Zack… we have a situation."

Zack paused and traded looks with Rui before looking back down at the laptop. "What's the problem?"

"Elfe and Luxiere caught something on one of the video cameras shortly before I got back."

That would explain Elfe's absence. Zack rubbed his chin in worry. "What was it?"

Cloud shook his head. "We don't know. They tracked it down to the first floor stairwell but it… disappeared. I have Elfe and Luxiere searching hotel blueprints as we speak. Wedge and Biggs are posted on the west and east stairwells, Tiercel's on the entrance, and Jessie's got the terminal."

Zack nodded. He was pleased to hear Cloud was right on top of the situation. "Keep digging. Find out what it was. And if you can, try to keep it alive. This objective takes top priority."

"Understood." Cloud nodded "I won't let base camp stay compromised."

"You're in charge Captain. Do whatever you have to do to find out."

"And the signal feed?"

"Keep Jessie on it. She can keep tabs with Rui and my team both on separate networks. We'll keep you posted."

"Copy that." The blond sighed. "None of this makes any sense…"

Zack shrugged. "Same story here. Don't worry. We'll find out. In the meantime, focus on the tango in base camp."

"I'll keep you posted."

Zack nodded and gave a crisp salute. "Sounds good. Stay sharp Cloud. Over and out."

With that, the transmission ended and Zack looked back over at Rui. The brown haired woman had a slightly worried look on her face.

"Don't worry. Cloud will take care of it."

"A disappearing intruder?"

"I don't know. But he'll take care of it! Trust him… _And _your sister. They'll figure it out."

Rui sighed slightly and nodded. "Some sister. The girl's 25 and I'm still treating her like a kid."

"Older sibling syndrome." Zack smirked. "It can't be helped. Just wait until she starts kissing boys!"

Rui laughed at that and Zack chuckled slightly.

"Okay." The black haired man sobered up. "Once we're inside, take off and find a secure location to land. We'll radio in when we need pick up."

"Zack! You be careful in there. I have a bad feeling."

Zack smirked as he turned to leave. "Who doesn't? Don't worry. We'll stay sharp. Now get out of here before the landing breaks off or something!" With that, the bravo leader slipped his helmet back on, clutched his assault rifle and jumped out of the Apache.

He took a few steps away as the Apache slowly began to ascend back into the sky. Zack didn't waste any more time. He quickly marched over to the head of his squad and stretched his arm forward.

"Okay boys. This isn't a picnic! Let's get to work!"

**XXXX**

Cloud sighed as soon as the transmission ended with Zack. "This objective takes top priority huh?" He muttered, echoing Zack's words. "Easier said than done."

Jessie watched him with sympathy. "There has to be a reason why he disappeared." She offered helpfully.

Cloud smiled in appreciation. "Yeah. Thanks."

Just then, Cloud's headset released a dull buzz. "Captain."

Cloud thumbed the headset. "Go ahead, Elfe."

"We've found something. I… think you better come take a look for yourself."

Cloud nodded and began moving towards the door. "Copy that. On my way."

He turned to look back at Jessie, as he continued for the door. "Stay on the transmission feed. Let me know if anything happens."

Jessie smiled and gave him a thumbs up. "Will do, sir. You'll be the first to know."

Cloud smiled and continued out the door. For a rookie, Jessie was pretty level headed. He had a feeling she'd be just fine in Spec Ops. He'd have to remind himself to write a letter of recommendation for her when they got out of here. _'If we get out of here…'_

The blond shook his head. There was no time for dwelling on negative thoughts. Instead, he turned his thoughts back to the bigger issue. He easily jogged down the stairs and moved into the office behind the front desk. There he saw Luxiere standing beside Elfe, holding up one of the blueprints while she was pointing at the computer. The two of them looked up when he entered.

"Captain." Elfe waved him over. "Glad you're here."

"What's the news?" He asked, moving towards them.

"Have a look at this." Elfe scooted back in her chair so Cloud could get a better look at the computer monitor.

Cloud stood and looked over. It seemed Elfe had positioned the two variant level one blue prints close together but other than that, he couldn't see anything different.

"What am I supposed to be seeing?"

"You remember when we talked about these computer blueprints being the same as the paper one Luxiere is holding?"

"Yes. Aren't they?"

"I thought so at first. But look closer. See this?" She pointed towards the middle of the second blueprint. "That entrance there, should be on the paper right? But…"

She stood up and pressed her finger against the same spot on the blueprint that Luxiere was holding. "It's completely different. See? That's the stairwell there. But there's only wall until it gets to the front entrance, see?"

Cloud rubbed his chin, nodding in understanding. "So you think these two blueprints are an earlier model?"

"Not quite." Elfe pointed back to her computer monitor. "The date of completion is too close. Each of these blueprints and the paper blueprint are dated only a few days apart."

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "So you think there's something else?"

Elfe grinned with a slight smirk. "I _know _there's something else. I printed out copies of each blueprint on 8'½ by 11 paper."

"The printer works?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Miraculously. In any case, I want you to come see this. If my suspicions are correct, I think it's better everyone see it to believe it."

"Well you've got my curiosity piqued now. So let's see."

Elfe lead Cloud over towards the copier where the two sheets of paper had been printed. Luxiere followed behind, still holding the paper blueprint.

The corporal spread the blueprint down on the table while Elfe picked up the printed blueprints from the copier. She then pulled out a flashlight from one of her packs. Cloud watched in mild curiosity. Elfe set the flashlight on the table, face up, and held the first blueprint copy over the light, then rotated the second one sideways.

"At first glance, it just looks like a regular, unfinished blueprint." She explained while working.

Cloud nodded wordlessly.

"But there's just too much of a coincidence to think otherwise, especially when there are plans here that don't match the plans on the printed blueprint."

She continued to arrange the second sheet so that both blueprints were visible at the same time.

"Now, I'm willing to bet… if I overlap the two… aha!" a triumphant smile appeared on her face and Cloud raised an eyebrow.

She turned to the Delta leader with a wide grin. "Come see for yourself captain. I think I just solved our little mystery."

Luxiere walked over alongside Cloud and both men started at what they saw over the light.

The two blueprints, that were otherwise incomplete, when brought together, created an entire sub-level that stretched past a _'supposed' _wall and stretched down into a lower level, designed in such a way that it carried a strong resemblance to the original first floor with various flaws.

"I'll be damned." Luxiere whistled.

Cloud merely shook his head with a rueful grin. "You really are a genius, Elfe. You make your sister proud."

The auburn haired woman brightened in appreciation. "I think we're right on track to finding our tango, sir."

Cloud nodded, still looking at the newly made map. "This plan shows a hidden door between the first and second floors on the eastern stairwell. You two didn't notice anything?"

"No." Luxiere shook his head. "And apparently neither did Biggs. He ran patrol up and down that stairwell after us."

"Well now we know what to look for." Cloud walked over to his helmet and refastened his headset to the side of it.

Elfe made for her own helmet on the computer table. "Orders sir?"

"You and Luxiere are with me. We'll take Biggs as well. Finding that tango takes top priority; orders directly from Bravo leader. So we're going to find out who was snooping around and we're going to get some answers."

"It's about time we got some action." Luxiere grinned, snapping his headset to his own helmet and pulling it over his head. "I was getting bored with the babysitting duty."

"Don't get overconfident." Cloud warned, pulling his helmet on. "We still don't know what to expect down there and with only four soldiers, we'll be playing a tight game of cat and mouse. I don't want any heroics, got it?"

"Aye aye, cap'n." Luxiere gave a casual salute.

Elfe rolled her eyes before pulling her helmet on.

Cloud checked the safety on his assault rifle and nodded to himself. "Right. Let's get to it then!"

Elfe grabbed the two-page blueprint and the three soldiers quickly made their way to the first floor stairwell. As soon as they opened the door, a red scope light flashed on Cloud before immediately turning off.

"Captain?"

Cloud and the others looked up while Biggs quickly made his way down from two flights up. "Did something come up?"

"In a matter of speaking." Cloud nodded as Biggs rounded the last set of stairs towards them.

"We think we may have found out the reason why we lost the tango from earlier. There's a secret entrance somewhere in this stairwell and you're going to help us find it."

"Yes, sir."

Cloud clapped his shoulder. "Nice reflexes by the way."

"Uh, Thanks…"

He could hear the man's unease and it made him grin behind his helmet. But the moment quickly faded as he stared up at the shoddy, stained walls and brick stairwell. "There's more to this picture than just a secret entrance." He started, taking the first steps up the stairwell. "Even if we find it, whoever built this place is either extremely smart or extremely lucky, because from what you tell me, Elfe, our motion trackers lost them too, right?"

"Yes sir, that's correct."

Cloud released a sigh and gripped his assault rifle with one hand. "Too many unknowns…" He walked up to the wall adjacent to the first set of stairs and rubbed his gloved hand against the surface. "Solid." He muttered. "And from what I know, you two didn't take your time running here. If there were a collapsible entryway, we'd know. Keep your eyes open. Look for anything out of the ordinary."

Luxiere and Biggs walked past him, searching more walls and surfaces. Elfe checked the main landing in case there was a dropdown hatch on the floor.

The four of them continued to mill about until Luxiere sighed in frustration at the second floor landing. Like the other landings, all he found was solid wall and an empty paint can set off to one corner. "This is ridiculous. There has to be something more than this stupid can!" He kicked the offending object with his boot and as soon as he did, a series of pops set off. Luxiere jumped immediately.

"What was that?" Cloud rushed up the stairs, closely followed by Elfe while Biggs rushed down from above.

"I… I don't know." The man shook his head. "I just kicked this can and the wall started making sounds."

"Sounds?" Elfe moved forward. "Step aside."

Luxiere backed away and the young woman knelt down to observe the now dented paint can. She tried to pick it up but it seemed stuck to the ground, as if glued there by some excess paint residue.

"What do you make of it, Lieutenant?" Cloud asked, moving beside her.

"Curious. I never would have noticed this but it's been sitting out in plain sight all this time. And it's glued to the ground with a lot more adhesive than any paint I've ever seen."

She tried twisting the can. Then pushing it. And pulling once again. No matter what, it wouldn't budge.

"This is pointless." Biggs sighed. "It's just a paint can, right?"

"Nothing in this place is as it seems." Cloud frowned, still watching Elfe.

The woman sighed, rising to her feet. Then another thought struck her. She lifted her foot and stepped down on the top of the can. With little resistance, the can immediately sank into the ground and an audible hum resonated from the adjacent wall.

All four of them started as a trail of blue lights flashed down the side of the wall in quick succession, and then nothing, as if it had never happened. The wall was still there.

Luxiere shrugged. "Okaaaaay. Now what?"

"Wait." Elfe watched as the paint can slowly began to rise up out of the floor again. She narrowed her eyes, took a guess and reached her hand out to the wall… and started as it passed through the solid surface.

"Whoa!" She quickly drew her hand back, and flexed her gloved fingers. "Did you se-"

"I saw." Cloud nodded. He reached his own hand out and suddenly felt solid resistance; not much but it was getting stronger. He looked down at the paint can that was almost completely sitting above the surface as it had been earlier.

"I get it."

Cloud thumbed his comm unit. "Jessie, do you copy."

"Here, sir."

"I think we've just made a breakthrough. I'm taking Luxiere, Elfe and Biggs with me to investigate. No matter what happens, stand by in the control room. You're in charge until I return."

"Copy that."

Cloud released his hand on the comm unit and repeated Elfe's move from earlier, stepping down on the paint can. The blue lights flashed down the side of the wall once again and he reached his arm forward, slipping it through the wall. "That explains it. A trigger mechanism. We have to pass through before the can rises otherwise there's some kind of… material that solidifies the entrance."

Without another word, Cloud took a step forward and sank through the wall. The last thing he heard was a loud gasp before plunging into darkness.

He hurried forward a few steps, looking down at the H.U.D. within his helmet. The canvas was a mess of static and haze. It all made sense to him now. Whatever made that artificial wall was scrambled their motion tracking device. That meant they'd be completely blind in this place.

He took several more steps and to his surprise the room light up as if he had just opened his eyes. It was a dull lighting though, revealing a narrow passage that ended several feet ahead with an oval pit at the other end. Cloud raised his rifle and took measured steps forward. He heard sounds from behind and soon, Elfe materialized as if out of thin air, followed closely by Luxiere and then Biggs.

"That was crazy!" Biggs gasped.

"Lock it down!" Cloud hissed. "I want complete silence. Whoever's behind this is very smart. But we just figured out their little magic trick, so my guess is we just caught them by surprise. Now our motion trackers don't work in here so we're moving blind. We're crippled enough as it is so our only advantage is the element of surprise. I want tight formation. Eyes and ears open and if you see anything, signal, don't speak. Got it?"

They all nodded and Cloud returned the nod, satisfied that everyone understood. He then slowly made his way towards the pit.

He crouched low at the entrance and the dull sounds of some sort of piping aqueduct could be heard in the distance.

The others crouched around him. Cloud pointed to Luxiere and the man nodded. He pressed his stomach to the ground before slipping into the pit with his rifle aimed. Elfe and Biggs secured his ankles as the man dipped lower into the opening.

After several tense moments, Luxiere clicked the tip of his boot to the ground twice; the all-clear signal. Biggs and Elfe promptly pulled him back up. Cloud pointed to himself and then Biggs, followed by Elfe and Luxiere. They all understood; the scouting order.

As silently as they could, they made their way down into the pit. To Cloud's mind, as he descended, the entire place looked like a stone tunnel. Again, the passage was narrow and led up to another manhole. They crept over and cautiously made their way down. This manhole dropped deeper than the first and they descended for several minutes at least in the narrow, oval cavity until the sidings opened up into a dank and wide tunnel.

Cloud frowned, dropping silently. The ground felt moist against his boots. The tunnel had an earthy formation with uneven grounding, moss strewn floors and rugged walls. Several of the walls dipped into darker recesses giving him the chilling sensation that they'd just entered some sort of catacomb.

The echoing sounds of piping and some far off mechanism could easily be heard, louder now than it had been before. He almost figured they could move at ease under the masking of the noise but he wasn't going to be that bold just yet. Instead he turned his head towards the others and spoke at a very low voice. "Whisper." He hissed. "I'm judging this is some type of fallout shelter of some sort."

"It looks that way." Elfe whispered back. "But there sounds like a good piping system somewhere in the distance. A lot better than in the hotel at least."

"Why would anyone want to go underground?" Biggs asked pensively. "You think maybe this is the terrorist hideout?"

"I don't know." Cloud whispered. "The general didn't mention anything about any terrorists in the video feed… and if they really had occupied the village, why hide?"

"Maybe to catch us by surprise?" Luxiere asked sarcastically. But there was a tone to his low voice that marked his own confusion about the affair as well.

"Keep it tight." Cloud returned. "It's time we found some answers."

The four-man team continued to move forward at a slow pace. Suddenly the air was broken by the loud patter of running feet.

Elfe gasped. "Did you hear that?"

"It came from the left!" Biggs pointed in a tight hiss.

Cloud nodded, and the four of them rushed silently towards the dark recess, several feet ahead and to the left. As they neared the portal, they could see that it ended with a wide, wooden door. Elfe crouched low and to the left side of the door. Luxiere shadowed her and stood for a higher angle. Biggs leaned on the right side. All rifles were aimed while Cloud rushed to the center.

He took a deep breath. They could all hear noises now, coming from the other side. Cloud wasn't sure what to expect, but enough was enough. It was time they got some answers. He took another breath and, with all his might, kicked his foot into the wood. The door immediately swung open and a loud scream tore out from the other end of the door causing all four soldiers to start in alarm. On the other side, was a scared little girl being clutched by and equally frightened young woman with rich, brown hair and shimmering green eyes.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

_**Author's note:**__ Thanks for reading. Please Review. Chapter Four should be released in a week at the latest._


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